Mark L. Griffin is an accomplished minister and accountant. Griffin has been the Pastor of Wayman Ministries since 1995. Under his leadership, the church has grown from 75 to more than 1,400 members. Since 1995, Wayman Ministries has grown from a small, Sunday morning worship ministry to a two-campus ministry that includes two additional corporations, Wayman Community Development Corporation and Wayman Academy of the Arts, Inc. Currently, the ministry and its related corporations employ well over 100 people.
In 1995, Pastor Griffin founded Wayman Community Development Corporation, and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. This corporation operates two fully licensed daycare centers, three after school programs, Summer Camp, Mentoring Program, Life Change Youth Counseling, Transformations Car Wash, and other community service projects. Funding is provided by various federal, state and local governmental agencies, as well as private donations and service fees.
In 1999, Pastor Griffin founded Wayman Academy of the Arts, Inc., which is an Elementary Charter School. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. In August 2000, the school opened its doors to 131 Kindergarten through 5th grade students. Now in its fifteenth year of operations, the school has an enrollment of approximately 375 students, and is rapidly acquiring a reputation of excellence educating children from low socio-economic backgrounds. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
In addition to being an accomplished pastor and community leader, Pastor Griffin is also a successful entrepreneur. In 1990, Griffin started his own accounting firm, originally called Mark L. Griffin, Certified Public Accountant, and subsequently renamed to Griffin & Company, CPA’s. For over eleven years, the firm developed a reputation for excellence in auditing, accounting, and tax consulting services. The firm has served clients in the governmental, business, non-profit, church and individual arenas. He eventually closed the firm to focus full time on the ministries of Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Pastor Griffin graduated from Florida A&M University in 1982 with a B.S. degree in accounting. Two years later, he passed the C.P.A. examination. In 1989, he received his M.B.A. from the University of North Florida. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. He accepted the call to ministry in 1988, and was an associate minister at St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Jacksonville, Florida until 1992. In 1992, his first pastoral assignment was at Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. Church, Starke, Florida. In 1995, he was assigned to Wayman Chapel, where he continues to serve as the leader of one of the most dynamic ministries in the area, and in January 2007, Pastor Griffin launched inaugural worship services at a second location on Jacksonville’s Westside, the Spirit of Life Worship Center.
As a community leader, Griffin is frequently consulted by leaders and other advocates on issues that affect the citizens of Jacksonville. He served as a Board Member of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools; Past President of the United Community Outreach Ministries, Inc.; Past President of the A.M.E. Church, East Conference Ministerial Alliance; Catholic Charities of Jacksonville, JCCI, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and other various community and civic organizations.
Griffin performs workshops and lectures for numerous church and non-profit groups, including the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Florida State Primitive Baptist Church Convention, the Institute of Church Administration and Management, and many local church groups and congregations. He is a member of the General Board of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, and also serves on the Executive Committee of the General Board. He is also the Accountant for the 11th Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church.
Griffin has been married for 34 years to Dr. Cynthia Roberts Griffin. They have two daughters, Whitney and Crystal; one son-in-law, Tony; and two grandchildren, Marcus and Maya.